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Topic: Spirituality for Software Engineers (Read 2276 times)

This is a dialog between a disciple (d) and a software-side guru (sguru) on the subject of spirituality. The questions and answers are very brief. So a commentary is given below to understand the in-between thinking that is taking place. The questions and answers are taking place with a lot of silent contemplation in between.

The discussion starts as given below.

d: I have already read 1000 megabytes of scriptures. But still I am not getting the fulfillment I expect.

---- Silence ----

d: So?

Commentary:1. The import is that the disciple has not approached sguru without any preparation. The disciple has already read 1000 megabytes of scriptures. Within that 1000 megabytes the disciple has already covered what he thinks are the key scriptures.

2. At this point the disciple has not gone for reading another 1000 megabytes because the disciple felt that reading further scriptures is repetition of the same concepts with different symbology. Therefore he decided to consult sguru.

3. It is not that the disciple has not found any fulfillment after reading the scriptures, but that he has not found the level of fulfillment he is seeking in life.

4. The Silence means that sguru has not responded. Silence is a potent thing, so in silence many things can get clarified by itself. But in this case even after a long silence the disciple could not get the clarity. Any more silence is not helping him. He expected a response from sguru. Therefore he says: So?

Commentary:1. Here sguru is ensuring that there was no unwanted intrusions in the system. The scriptures have been read in a distraction-free environment. They were read not only for the sake of completion of page counts, but there has been contemplation behind the reading.

2. The disciple says that he has installed the firewall first thing. So he was already aware of this. This also shows the sincerity of the disciple. He is sincere as well as prepared, in the sense that he has built his foundation on the contemplation of some key scriptures.

3. The Silence here again means sguru has not responded for a long time. The disciple also contemplated in that silence but required some further ground to break. Therefore he says: So?

Commentary:1. Here sguru ensures that after reading the scriptures the disciple was not sitting idle. What is written in the scriptures need to be practised. Therefore he asks - What did you do after reading the scriptures?

2. The disciple replied that he has installed the software packages. So the disciple himself is not idle and contended with mere reading of the scriptures. He has installed the software packages. Where has he installed the software packages? In the desktop of his being. When a software actually runs in the desktop of the being, it is expected to bring some transformation in the being. For example, it is a common practice to run a Japa module to bring transformation in the desktop of the being.

3. Next sguru again went silent. The software is installed. So what still is lacking? The disciple also contemplated on this. Then wanted sguru to tell something else. Therefore he said: So?

Commentary:1. Next sguru wants to know what software packages the disciple installed. Scriptures can mean a broad thing. Even black magic will fall under scriptures. So exactly what scriptures did the disciple read, and based on that what software packages did the disciple install. Were the scriptures and software packages relevant to spiritual development?

2. Here also the disciple showed maturity. He selected the software packages which he thought were directly relevant to his spiritual development and at the same time easy for him to run.

3. The Bhakti package aims to connect to God through devotion. The God Who is transcendent (as well as immanent) is worshipped in a form with particular attributes by offering the heart's devotion. In this way the human-divine channel gets awakened.

4. The Enquiry package enquires directly into the human-divine channel by enquiring into the I-sense.

5. The Service package serves humans by contemplating on their essential divine nature.

6. sguru again went silent. The correct software seems to have been installed. There is a good balance of karma, bhakti and jnana. So what still is lacking to bring greater satisfaction? The disciple also thought on this. Then wanted sguru to tell still something further. Therefore he said: So?

Commentary:1. Here sguru wants to know whether the software packages were lying idle after installation, or were they actually being run. Also was there any issue during installation which prevented the software from running properly.

2. When a software package is merely installed and kept, there is only Shravana (Listening). It stops there. Shravana by itself cannot bring transformation in the desktop of the being. It needs to be followed by Manana (Reflection) and Nididhyasana (Meditation). For that the software packages need to be run regularly atleast upto a predefined time duration. If the software is not producing any satisfactory result after that, it can then be uninstalled.

3. The disciple said "Yes". The software packages are running ok.

4. There was again a long silence. So what happened? The software is running but not producing result? That was the question lurking behind. sguru did not respond for a long time. So the disciple said: So?

1. Next sguru ensures that a virus scan was run to scan for worldly attachments. Here the scanning function is different from cleaning function. First one should scan for the virus.

2. Worldly attachments are like viruses for spiritual development. God consciousness expands. But attachment viruses create their mini-worlds and drown the mind there.

3. There may arise doubts that in practical life involving relationships with parents, spouse, children and relatives, how can life proceed without some sort of attachment? May be there are good attachments like attachments to wife and children and bad attachments like attachments to drinking. Some attachments need to be there to maintain practical relationships. These doubts are natural and should not be solved in a hurry. One can take one's own time. Therefore virus cleaning is a separate process than virus scanning.

4. But how does a virus scanner mark something as virus? Maybe it is a simple relationship which it has marked as virus. Possibility of defects are there everywhere in software. Maybe the virus scanner itself is buggy.

5. However the virus scanner is not defective. It operates based on only one simple rule: Everything has come from God, so there is a natural relationship between everything. When God is kept as the bonding entity in a relationship, it is not a virus; else it is a virus. With this rule it may be thought that majority of relationships in the world are viruses. It may be so, but for spiritual aspirant relationships need to be connected with God.

6. The disciple said that he has scanned for viruses, so he has taken the bold step.Now what still is lacking? That was the question lurking in silence. sguru did not speak for a long time and the disciple wanted more ground to break. Therefore he said: So?

Commentary:1. Next sguru wants to know whether any virus was actually cleaned. Virus scanning requires introspection and is a bold step. Virus cleaning is a bolder step.

2. With viruses of attachments present in the system, the actual programs may not run as intended. All the viruses cannot be eliminated. But the key ones which are directly affecting the "take off" need to be mitigated. The key software packages have inbuilt virus cleaners which will gradually purge the system. But those major ones that are not allowing the key packages to run need to be eliminated.

3. The disciple has actually cleaned some virus shows that the disciple is serious. Being serious the disciple seems to be dejected when his expectations are not met. Probably his expectations are more.

4. By default the virus scanner marks all relations which are not connected with God as virus. So initially parents, wife, children may all be marked as virus. However the mitigation of the virus is not difficult. It can be as simple as praying to the family deity that all family is under your protection. Now since the family gets connected to God, the virus gets mitigated. The virus scanner always challenges to examine each relation and other associations which can be potential attachments.

5. There was a silence as usual. Everything seems to have been done. Can anything further be done? The disciple still seems to have some more expectations from this dialog. Therefore he says: So?

Commentary:1. A server is a system which serves others. It has mighty power compared to normal systems. In spirituality, Server is a realised saint who emanates his / her spiritual power serving others by that mighty presence.

2. Incarnations of God are Servers of very high capacity. The representations of them like scriptures are also Servers. A temple represents a Deity who is a Server. In that sense a temple is also a Server.

3. Without a Server, a person cannot progress spiritually. There must be some influence of a Server, if not explicitly, in a hidden way. Servers provide the holy company to grow spiritually. The desktops log in the Servers and enrich themselves, enrich their functionalities.

4. sguru asks whether there is any Server in the network; because without Servers one can get drowned by mere philosophizing. Only virus cleaning will not do. Because while cleaning the virus, one is only introspecting within oneself, basically the ego. But to get a feel of the beyond, Servers are required.

5. The disciple says that there is Temple Servers in the network. So the disciple is not spiritually isolated within himself. He visits temples, immerses in that environment and there may be more involvement.

6. The disciple also mentions "other Servers". This indicates that the disciple has some personal guru, but he does not want to give further details. sguru also did not press for the details.

7. The disciple is therefore not the disciple of sguru. The disciple is associated with a separate guru. That is why he already knows many things. He is by no means immature. The disciple is holding dialog with sguru for the first time. So sguru is only like an upa-guru.

8. There was a silence because sguru did not speak. When holy company and advice is already flowing, what more can be said? Temporary despair is natural in spiritual life. The holy company and "other Servers" will help in getting over it. But the disciple is not yet ready to quit. Probably he wants one more Server to get added in the network. Therefore he says "So"?

silentgreen,one may do without bashya (commentary) for brahma sutra ...but in this sambhashan(dialogue) between sguru and disciple ,the bashya is a must...ha ha.I enjoy reading this...looking forward to the 'poornima' day when the disciple would exclaim 'Vedahametam purusham mahantam,aditya varnam tamasaparastat'...ha hanamaskar

Dear Sri Ravi; Yes, this is a peculiar dialog which does not make much sense without a commentary. (Not that with commentary everything will make sense). It is enacted like the hidden protocols of software.

Commentary:1. Guru is the power which takes one from darkness to light in the spiritual sense. Among all the powers we normally encounter in life, guru-power is the rarest one. All other powers work in the realm of the ego. Guru-power is the only power which works from beyond the ego.

2. If maya is translated as delusion (the Tantras in general differ from this due to their different outlook of Shakti), the first place where delusion strikes is the guru-power. If delusion cannot conceal guru-power it is no delusion at all. Once guru-power is concealed, the inclinations of life itself changes.

3. If we consider that the power flow in an individual is more or less fixed, then if guru-power gets hidden, power will manifest externally as power of cars, properties, gadgets etc. Once guru-power is felt, the role of other powers in life reduces, as if all the powers get subsumed in the guru-power.

4. Guru-package is installed only if guru-power is felt and the same power is used to uplift oneself spiritually. Taking initiation from a guru and praying to the guru for financial difficulties, son's or daughter's marriage etc. is not installation of guru package. Personal guru may have a role to play in these matters also but these are secondary. Guru package is installed if from the personal guru one can derive the guru-power and uplift oneself spiritually.

5. Guru-power does not specifically point to any human guru. It is a power which shows the light from within. A human being will be widely accepted as a guru only if he / she can kindle the guru-power within. Guru-power can also be sensed from non-human sources like vastness of Nature, dark cave etc.

6. Installation of guru-package is quite rare because it involves three aspects which themselves are rare. First is, one should be a mumukshu (desirous of moksha or at least a higher spiritual state than one is at present). Second is, one should have felt the guru-power. Third is, the aspect of guru-power felt is as per one's inclination; so one can uplift oneself spiritually with that guru-power. There is a long journey even after that, but one has now found a spiritual direction to uplift oneself.

7. Mumukshus are rare. They are a different breed. They have a different sense. An ordinary spiritual teacher can collect disciples by hundreds, but they cannot collect mumukshus so easily.

8. Feeling the guru-power is also rare. As mentioned before, among all the powers we normally encounter in life, guru-power is the rarest of all. The doubts which many people have whether God really exist is not adequately dispelled by appearance of God. It is dispelled only by feeling the guru-power. Because even if God appears in some form or other, the basic dissatisfaction of life can continue after God disappears. Guru-power makes a hole of light in life itself which continues to show the path.

9. Finding the guru-power matching one's inclination is also rare, because everyone has a unique bent of mind. On top of this, there are several influences in life which keeps the inner being of one in a dynamic state. So a guru-power to match that shade of uniqueness among million shades, sounds like that the power is tailor-made for one.

10. sguru asks about the Guru package as a follow up of the previous "Server" question. Having multiple Servers in the network does not mean that Guru package is installed, even if the "Other Servers" are personal gurus. Having Servers in the network may only indicate that appreciation of God has dawned in life. But are you committed in uplifting your own life spiritually? Have you found a guru-power within the Servers of the network? Does the form of the guru-power match your inclination so that you can use it? If yes, only then Guru-package is installed.

11. The disciple saying "Yes" to this question has brought a subtle turn to the whole dialog. This is because the disciple has now revealed that he is under an active guru-power. Hearing this sguru abstained from talking any further. sguru thought that when one is under an active guru-power, that power itself will guide him and the continuation of the dialog will be an interferance to that power.

12. The disciple understood this and also started contemplating. Was it proper for him to consult someone else when he is following a guru-power internally? Is it a disrespect for the guru-power revealed to him? Then the disciple thought about the initial intention of his starting the dialog and the way the dialog has proceeded so far.

13. There are two "Silences" shown in the above dialog to point to the above two separate contemplations. One from the side of sguru, the other from the side of the disciple. A change in the environment has also come in the dialog. Now sguru is seeing a guru-power behind the disciple. And the disciple after contemplating concluded that it is by the will of his guru-power that the dialog has proceeded so far, else it should have long concluded. So the disciple is also seeing the guru-power behind sguru. Thus both the Silences converged towards the guru-power.

14. Getting inner approval, the disciple prodded on and said: So?, although he was not sure whether sguru will reply.

Commentary:1. Guru package puts one on the track of spiritual progress. But what is the proof that one is on this track and not continuing with life as it is. The answer is the version management system.

2. The version management system needs to be installed to monitor one's progress.

3. The version management system is tied to a set of activities one undertakes for spiritual progress. If the question is how can activities lead to spiritual progress, the answer is that these activities are specifically performed with the intention of expanding oneself in the core of the being.

4. Though the version management system is tied to a set of activities, the version upgrade happens on the being and not the set of activities.

5. The disciple replies that he has already installed the version management system. The disciple seems to know everything. So what can sguru do? sguru was silent. But the disciple does not want to end the matter even now. So he says: So?